


it’s so easy

by retts



Series: that’s life, innit? [4]
Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-10-19 11:10:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17600198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/retts/pseuds/retts
Summary: ‘Don’t you look grumpy,’ said Dele as he ran his thumb along Eric’s eyebrow.‘I had a bad night, Delboy.’‘Hm. I saw, babe.’





	it’s so easy

**Author's Note:**

> if deledier continue giving us more content, im fucked
> 
> also you ever feel good at the start of a fic and then be totally meh about it by the middle and end? edited it to the best of my ability but now i must sleep! will do another comb through for tangles tomorrow

 

Eric switched off the engine and leant back in the seat, soaking up the silence. There had been shouting all night from him, from his teammates, the rival players, the coaches, the fans - just everyone making a lot of noise until it was impossible to hear his own thoughts. It was the first time Eric could really think and it was this:

 _I lost it for us_.

It didn’t matter if other people missed because Eric still _failed_ in the end. It had been up to him. The man to do it again, only he hadn’t.

Eric let go of the steering wheel and dug the heel of his palm into his eye, sighing. After, there had been commiserations: not your fault, don’t dwell on it, we’ll do it next time. Poch had spoken to him on the way to the locker room, arm about his shoulders, voice calm and without reproach. It had hurt almost as much as missing that shot.

In front of everyone, Eric had to accept their kind words, the pats on the back, and given his own kind words in return, patted their backs for giving it their best.

And still ended up losing because of him. It all went back to that. It was a bitter pill to swallow.

Maybe the silence wasn’t better after all.

Eric grabbed his mobile from the slot by the gear shift and felt it vibrate. It had been lighting up with notifications since the match ended and Eric was surprised the device hadn’t shook itself apart by this point. He’d replied to family and close friends but left everyone else for the morning when he wasn’t feeling quite so raw. Eric glanced at the screen and knew he could not ignore this. Wouldn’t even _dare_.

Dele: _Are you ever coming inside? It’s been 10 minutes since you parked._

Eric glanced at the house and saw, to his amusement, Dele peering from between the curtains. He couldn’t make out Dele’s face from this distance and with the light behind him, but it didn’t matter: it was enough to make Eric smile.

Eric: _I can see you from here_.

The curtains parted wider, letting out more light. A hand waved at him.

Dele: _Then come inside, you bellend. What are you waiting for? I’m not fetching you like I’m some servant._

Who was Eric to disobey? It was snowing again, soft flakes that melted on Eric’s nose and caught in his beard as he got out of the car and made his way towards the house. He shut the gate behind him. The hedges were already covered in a fine layer of ice. Eric rubbed his nose with the back of his hand as he reached the front door, shivering when a cold draft passed him by. The front door opened and Dele stood in the threshold, limned by the fluorescent light, frowning at him. Cisco and Clay were scrambling over each other behind him, whining in welcome.

‘Thought you were going to run away,’ said Dele, reaching out to haul Eric inside by his coat.

‘With you waiting for me? Never.’ Eric unzipped his jacket and draped it on the side table, toed off his damp trainers, and followed Dele into the lounge. The house was warm, brightly lit, and his dogs climbed on top of him the moment he fell on the sofa. He touched their cold noses and let them sniff and paw at him, finding comfort in their open affection. Eric tilted his head back when he felt his cap tugged off, Dele tossing it aside before scratching the top of his head with light fingers.

‘Do you want to talk about it?’ asked Dele, tone neutral.

Eric grunted. ‘No. I’d like to forget the entire thing.’

‘Until tomorrow when you go in for post-match.’

‘It’s going to be awful.’ Eric covered his eyes with his forearm and sighed deeply. He curled his fingers into Clay’s fur. ‘It was shit, Del. I was shit.’

‘I thought we weren’t going to talk?’

Eric smiled ruefully. ‘How’s your leg, by the way?’

‘As terrible as your night was,’ said Dele. Eric dropped his arm and watched as Dele went round the sofa and gently nudged Cisco aside so he could climb on Eric’s lap, facing him. Eric caught the wince at the corners of Dele’s eyes and stroked down the side of his chest.

‘Careful,’ murmured Eric.

‘I’m fine.’ Dele arranged his legs so he wouldn’t put too much strain on his thighs. ‘Any other time - ’ Dele bent down and kissed him; nothing but lips, slightly chapped, the gentlest _I’m sorry you had a horrible time_ Eric had received by far.

When Dele let him go, Eric slumped back with a sigh, hands resting on top of Dele’s thighs. He looked at Dele, frowning.

‘Don’t you look grumpy,’ said Dele as he ran his thumb along Eric’s eyebrow.

‘I had a bad night, Delboy.’

‘Hm. I saw, babe.’

Eric scrubbed his face with his hands, then linked his fingers behind his head and let out a snort of frustration. ‘I shouldn’t have taken that last shot.’

‘Who else would have done it?’

‘Anyone but me! I wasn’t even _close_ to getting it in. And they were all looking at me as if I could do it. Well, I showed them, eh?’

Dele nibbled on his bottom lip as he stared at Eric, eyes narrowed. ’Poch was right, though. For you to miss, you had to take the shot.’

‘They only say that to make the loser feel better,’ muttered Eric. He lowered his arms and cracked his knuckles.

Dele patted him on the cheek, then cupped his face in both hands and smooshed his cheeks together. ‘But it doesn’t make it any less true. Listen, Diet.’

‘Go on, Dele,’ he said, muffled by Dele’s hands, his smile similarly squished.

Dele snickered and loosened his grip, rubbing his palm along the scruff under Eric’s jaw. He liked to do that and say Eric should shave, he was resembling a caveman even more. Eric always saw through Dele, though, especially when he had Dele on his back with his face buried between Dele’s legs, just running his jaw and cheeks and tongue over every sensitive area. _Then_ , he’d tease Dele about shaving.

A tendril of tension running through Eric loosened as he stared up at Dele, took in his curls and arched eyebrows and dark brown eyes and straight nose; the irreverent mouth and high cheekbones that had lost its baby fat but still bunched up delightfully whenever he smiled a bit too widely. It might be funny to some people that Dele could be comforting. He was brash, cheeky, and could get into fights in the blink of an eye. He clammed up when things got serious or waved them away as part of some joke. Eric ruefully remembered being bruised more than once by Dele’s thoughtless remarks, the growing silence full of questions and uncertainties about what was happening to them even as they consistently fell into bed together.

But Dele could cup Eric’s face in one hand, kiss him on the forehead, and give him a crooked smile and some part of Eric would soften and be soothed.

‘You might not have heard because you were too busy flagellating - ’

‘Big word,’ Eric cut in, unable to help himself.

‘ - piss off!’

Eric winced when Dele’s hand landed a bit too hard on his shoulder and he rolled it a few times as caught Dele’s hand in his, kissing the back of it. ‘Sorry, I’m listening.’

Dele huffed and shifted his weight on Eric’s lap. ‘As I was saying, you were too busy flagellating yourself for that penalty - I love you, Eric, really, but _bloody_ _hell_ \- and too angry to hear the crowd singing your stupid crap song. They still love you, Diet. It’s right there in the lyrics. You’re still a hero. One wonky miss won’t change that. Now, if you’d done that at the World Cup - ’

A reluctant smile curled Eric’s mouth and he widened his eyes. ‘Oh, God, can you even imagine?’

Dele shook his head, unsmiling. ‘No, because you didn’t miss then but you did tonight. Next time you might get the goal or you might fail again. The important thing is you’re going to go out there and still take the penalty.’

Eric held Dele’s gaze, heart thudding. Of course he was going to do it again: stand in the penalty box, the keeper directly in front of him, and kick the ball. He was good enough to do it. The fans, the team, and the gaffer thought so. It was why it hurt to the bone when he missed. He might be humiliated now, regretting the decision and doubting himself, but when the chance came again -

With a loud groan, Dele slid off Eric’s lap and flung himself on the other side of the sofa, his legs stretched out over Eric’s thighs. ‘Fucking hell.’

Eric ran his hands up Dele’s calves and stopped on his knees, fingers twitching. ‘Your hamstring - ’

Dele peeked out from the side of the pillow he had over his face. ‘Is perfectly fine. I’m just in pain from being nice to you. It’s unnatural.’

‘You’re a right git, you are,’ said Eric, shoulders heaving in a sigh, relaxing back down with a pinch to the side of Dele’s knee.

‘Oi, watch it, I’m injured,’ said Dele in outrage. He threw the pillow at Eric’s face. ‘Ha! _I_ didn’t miss.’ His eyes widened and he held out a hand. ‘Eric, babe, don’t do it. Surely you wouldn’t hit a defenceless man! I was only taking the piss. Come on, Diet, it’s really not funny. I - hmph!’

Eric climbed over Dele, making sure to avoid his legs, and crammed the pillow to the side of Dele’s face. Dele shrieked and hit him with his fists. Cisco and Clay jumped up at the ruckus and began barking in excitement.

Snorting in laughter, Eric tossed the pillow aside and watched as Dele wheezed through his own mirth. ‘Christ, that’s kinky, let’s save that one for later,’ gasped Dele, ever the smart arse. He rubbed his forehead and tossed his arms on the back of the sofa.

Clay bound up on the sofa and nuzzled into Eric’s hand. Eric sat down, Dele pulling his legs away and straightening them out on top of the coffee table. Eric did the same, their socked feet touching. Dele scratched behind his ear and yawned. Watching him, Eric caught it as well, his jaw cracking. Bored at the sudden inactivity, Clay hopped down and sniffed at Cisco, who was decadently stretched out on the rug.

‘I had quite a tiring day as well, thanks for asking,’ said Dele.

‘I did ask you.’

‘Oh. Well, it bears repeating.’

‘As terrible as my night was, you said?’

‘You win only by a small margin.’

‘It’s good for you to have a challenge now and then.’

Dele grinned and nudged Eric’s foot with his own. Eric sighed again and stared up at the ceiling.

‘Ah, no!’ Dele burst out, his elbow digging into Eric’s arm. ‘You’re about to brood again, I can tell.’

Wincing, Eric rubbed his arm. ‘I was not! Get your matchstick elbows away from me.’

Dele scowled and pushed at Eric’s shoulder. ‘This is a house of peace and happiness. Go upstairs and have a hot shower. God, I forgot you were out in the cold all night. Don’t blame me if you get ill. I’ll order us some Domino’s.’

Eric reluctantly got to his feet, placing his hands on his lower back and arching his spine until he heard it crack.

‘You’ve never seemed more like an old man than you do at this moment, Diet. Now, go, please. But pass me my phone before you do.’

His body was starting to feel heavy from running about in the bitter weather for hours on end. Eric took Dele’s mobile from the side table and tossed it to him, Dele catching it with both hands. He was about to leave when he remembered something. Eric took out his own mobile from his pocket and gave it to Dele.

‘Here, you talk to them. Be nice, please. Don’t post anything on Instagram.’

Dele gave him an arch look. ‘I’m not thick, Eric.’

‘Never said you were, Delboy.’ Eric turned towards the staircase, got four steps away, did an about face, and backtracked. ‘I just remembered, Dele - ’

Dele raised his chin but didn’t turn to look at him. ‘What?’

Eric placed his hands on Dele’s shoulders and bent down to kiss him upside-down, Dele’s bottom lip caught between his. He ran his tongue along the length of it, fingers straying up to brush against Dele’s ear. He kissed him once, twice, thrice and then once more when Dele grabbed on to his shirt just as Eric was about to end it.

‘Thanks for cheering me up,’ Eric said and pulled away. Eric kissed him on the forehead, ran his fingers through his hair, and left before Dele lost the dazed look on his face. It was nice to have something to be satisfied with tonight. 

Eric was nearly at the top of the staircase when he heard Dele yell, obviously recovered, ‘You’re welcome but please don’t drown yourself in the bath since I’ve only just got you trained!’

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> feedback is good for my soul <3


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